Saturday, October 20, 2012

Movie review - "Pacific Banana" (1980) *

A fascinating time capsule - to think this was not only written, but funded, released in some cinemas and on video. But then Alvin Purple had been a phenomenon as had Australia After Dark so the South Australian Film Corporation presumably thought there was still some life in the sex comedy genre.

There is something endearing about a film that is so shameless - with it's atrocious puns, frequent nudity, idiotic plot, and dopey humour. It has absolutely no pretentious other than to be a piece of crap - and while the humour is broad, it isn't mean.

It also isn't professional however - the idea of using a narrator to comment on the action (as in actually comment on it - saying things like "oh no!" to events on screen and "watch out Martin") is up there with the worst ideas in the history of Australian cinema. The core story concept is bad too - it's about Martin (Graeme Blundell) sneezing and losing his erection whenever aroused. That's not fun to watch it's just sad and depressing (cf Alvin being chased by all these women was funny). It's also a bit yuck he's pursued by a school girl, even if she is 18, who turns out to be his true love - isn't this skating things a bit close to the wire, even for 1980? The plot with Robin Stewart and his two fiancés feel as though it doesn't go anywhere.

Graeme Blundell does everything he's required to - but he was getting a bit too old to play this sort of role (at this age having been impotent for so long felt sad). There are some nice views of Tahiti, some appalling acting from the support cast, shoddy directing. There are two very good looking girls in Deborah Gray and Alyson Best who keep taking their clothes of and seem like nice people (free spirited rather than sleazy) and Robin Stewart plays his party in the style required. But that narration...

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